High School Rock Stars!

To Do:

Training for new teachers: Our second Disciplinary Literacy Training for teachers new to our district is Tuesday, Jan 14 from 12:30-4 in the Board Room at the Ed Center. Please communicate the importance of the event to your teachers by prioritizing their attendance at this training.

Teacher expertise needed: Please share this opportunity with your teachers: ODE is looking for teachers to assist with writing the assessments for 6-8 MATH and 3-HS ELA. Applications are due February 6.

Mental Health Training: Please share this training opportunity for YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID with your staff. The training is on Feb 21 in our Board Room.

Information:

A storm is coming, so I am sending our district’s Inclement Weather Delay guidelines for this school year to you again for your reference.

Visitor Protocol: Thank you to you and your staff for consistently implementing the visitor entrance policy. I recognize there are times in which you get some push back from our non-BLS partners. Please ask them to check-in with personal ID (not work badges from other employers) and receive and wear a visitor’s badge. Let Julianne or Scott know if you need help with this.

Staffing allocations and plans: This spring we plan to have the School Board approve the budget at the March 10 board meeting, and staffing plans to you by Friday, March 13. The next targeted goal is to have you complete your staffing plan so I can approve them right after spring break. When this occurs, you’ll have just under two weeks to get job postings completed and sent to HR prior to the annual Job Fair (Monday, April 13). This will be an important hiring season, as you know, with a large increase in job postings across our state so we want to get out in front as best that we can in order to hire the best candidates. Let me know if you have any questions regarding this.

ELL: Here is the latest ELL NEWSLETTER from Kinsey regarding our service to our ELL students. Also, please share this important information with your staff, parents, and students about our next Latino Family Night!

$ for teachers: Do you have teachers interested in earning $$$ for the innovative activities they are implementing in their classrooms? Kyle Frick at Mid Oregon Credit Union wants to recognize and reward these teachers. Kyle writes: We are seeking additional ideas for our KTVZ One Class at a Time program, $500 awards with a KTVZ News story to share with the community and highlight great things happening in schools. As you know, we are looking for innovative and relevant classroom programs that we can feature.

Would you please check with your staff for any recommendations that we can use for the rest of this school year and possibly fall term too?

Changes to ACR and Choice App Dates: After reviewing the HS ACR/Choice Application dates with cabinet, we moved the ACR submission deadline to Monday, March 2 from Friday, February 28 and the Choice Schools application deadline to Tuesday, Feb 18 from Monday, Feb 17, which is MLK Day. Here is the UPDATED TIMELINE.

Your input is valuable: Earlier this week Andrea sent information regarding opportunities to provide input in our superintendent search… and here are a few highlights of opportunities for you: Wednesday, January 15, from 3:00-4:30 p.m., has been set aside for district leaders to drop in and chat with search consultants, Valerie Pitts and David Cash from HYA & Associates. Our consultants will be in rooms 307 and 312 at the Education Center and no appointment is necessary; please stop by whenever it works best for your schedule.

Additionally, you are invited to join us at one of our public forums:

January 14 / 5:00-6:30 p.m. / Sky View Middle School Library

January 15 / 5:00-6:30 p.m. / Cascade Middle School Library

January 16 / 4:30-6:30 p.m. / La Pine High School Library

More information about our Superintendent Search Process is available on our district website.

Our 4th Annual Latino Family Night is coming up in a few weeks – Jan. 28, 5:30pm @ MVHS – and you are all invited! Here is a flyer in Spanish and English that you can post or otherwise share with families and staff.

Calendar:

HS Principal Meeting – Tuesday, January 14 @ The Haven in the Hinterland Boardroom (1001 SW Disk Dr, Bend OR 97701) – January 31 meeting is canceled

HS Admin Meeting – January 21, SHS @ 7:00 am (read and be ready to discuss Chapters 7-9 in The Culture Code.)

Leadership Team Meeting – February 3, @ The Ed Center, 3:15

HS Principal Meeting – Friday, February 14@ 7:00 am, Jackson’s Corner

HS Admin Meeting – February 18 (Tuesday), BSHS @ 7:00 am (this replaces the February 24 meeting)

To Do:

An important note from Jon Lindsay RE Probationary Three employees: It is only December but it is time to start thinking about the renewal/non-renewal process. If you have an employee that you don’t want to renew, then we have some work to do in this area before the public board meeting on February 11, 2019.  

By Jan. 10th: Please have a conversation with me about any certified employee that you have some concerns about.  If you have a concern about an employee, we need to start making a plan for how to move forward with that person.  We may decide to start with informal supports or go to our formal process.    

We have several options when we are talking about probationary employees of concern.  One option is to non-renew a probationary contract.  This is formally done at the Board Meeting in February and March.  If we decide to move toward non-renewal, we will need to have some discussions with the teacher, with the BEA, and with the board during Executive Sessions.  If you are having concerns with a probationary teacher, please make sure we talk about it.  Once a teacher becomes contract it can be a much harder process. 

I also need to know about contract teachers that you have a concern about.  You may only be supporting the person informally, which is great, but I still need to know about them.  If you have started the formal support system, which includes Focus Performance Review, Support Strategies, and/or a Plan of Assistance, you must contact me so that we can work through it together.  

Due by Jan. 2oth:  Please send the probationary three letters of support to Carrie Hulbert and Candy Gelatt.  We need to be hiring and putting the best teachers in front of students.  It is an important decision when moving an employee from probationary status to contract status.  After participating in the board process last several years, I have a better feeling for what the board is looking for in these letters.  The board takes moving a probationary employee to contract status very seriously.  They really want to know that each of you has specific reasons why each one of these employees should move to contract status.  I have attached a spreadsheet of probationary three employees and the famous probationary three-letter from Mr. Matt Montgomery. If you have any questions, please call Jon.

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From Misty Groom: There will be a Level 1 (only) Threat Assessment Training held on Friday, January 24, 2020, from 12:00-4:00 at the High Desert ESD (2804 SW Sixth Street, Redmond). This training is for School Administrators, School Counselors, School Psychologists, and School Resource Officers who have NOT previously attended this training and for any NEW staff who will be part of a Level 1 team at their school site.

Individuals must RSVP via email to [email protected] – for any questions, please contact Misty at 541-355-1012. Please bring your laptop in order to access various documents.

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You have the opportunity to provide FREE vision screening to students through the Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation. Please share this info with key staff (FAN comes to mind) and email Tami Pike if you are interested in this awesome opportunity.

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From Jackie Wilson, our district’s Sustainability Coordinator: With Christmas break coming, this is a great time to remind staff about waste and energy reduction. All classrooms should do their part to reduce the trash as much as possible over the holidays. When Friday rolls around and we are in a rush to start our vacations and spend time with families, please remember the classified staff clean the schools. Garbage cans should not be left overflowing. Make sure you put recycling in bins and try to reduce trash. If your school wants a 30 person party kit with washable plates, bowls, cups and spoons for classrooms or staff parties. please reach out to the Sustainability Coordinator, Jackie Wilson.
As for energy conservation, schools’ heat will be lowered to 58 degrees for our unoccupied mode during the break. If you have any Mods on campus, please have the staff manually lower the temperatures to 58. These are not on the district controls. Make sure to shut down computers and turn off electronics at the power switches.

Calendar:

Leadership Meeting – January 13, Ed Center @ 3:15

HS Principal Meeting – Tuesday, January 14 @ The Haven in the Hinterland Boardroom (1001 SW Disk Dr, Bend OR 97701) – January 31 meeting is canceled

HS Admin Meeting – January 21, SHS @ 7:00 am (read and be ready to discuss Chapters 7-9 in The Culture Code.)

To Do:

If you haven’t already, complete and submit your SLGGS, Self Eval and School Design Plan to me over winter break – or prior to!

We will begin our second-year of Learning Labs in January. Four half-day labs make up this work and it is required for all of our NEW administrators. Because we know that quality professional development is key to continuous improvement for all of us, these learning labs are open to any administrator who would like to participate. If you are interested, we ask that you commit to ALL four sessions.

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Information:

Here is our PLAN for 8th grade orientation nights and ACR submission this year.

Please communicate the following reminders (from Skip) to your staff:

Over recent weeks a few incidents have occurred at different schools and classrooms that make me think that we need to review some basic but important iPad guidelines and practices.  Please take some time at an upcoming staff meeting to initiate a discussion with your teachers about safe internet use and proper iPad use with their students. If everyone can work to insure that the practices below are consistently applied and communicated, our parents and community will have a positive view of how we utilize our digital devices and resources.  If at any time the instructional technology department can provide advice, assistance, or coaching please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

• Google searches – The internet is a great place but just allowing students to surf unsupervised or without an academic purpose can sometimes lead to unexpected results and consequences.  Instead, have them utilize tools such as Discovery Education or World Book.
• Image searches – Searching for images should be monitored and managed closely.  Just telling students to google an image should not occur.  The same applies to using other search engines such as Bing.  Instead, direct students to the image search page that was created by our department.
• Free Time and Rainy Day Recess – At no time should students be given “iPad Free Time”  Whether it be during rainy day recess, snack time, waiting for the bus, before school, or when they finish their work, students should not have free time on the iPad.  There should always be a reason for using devices so that screen time is purposeful.
• Apple Classroom – This tool allows teachers to monitor and manage student use.  All teachers should know how to use this tool.  If they don’t, schedule a coach to come over and conduct a staff or small group training or refresher.
• AUP and Digital Citizenship Lessons – After returning from break it would be a great time to review the AUP and the digital citizenship lessons. A mid-year refresher never hurts.
• Parent Tools – there are settings and tools that parents can use at home to manage devices.  Here are two blog posts from our coaches that outline steps parents can take.
  • http://blogs.bend.k12.or.us/instructionaltechnology/2019/10/09/set-students-up-for-success-with-screentime-settings/
  • http://blogs.bend.k12.or.us/instructionaltechnology/2019/11/06/jamf-parent-app-available-now/

Here are a few reminders from SEAN regarding restraint and seclusion procedures:

1) Please print off the most recent version of the paperwork in the portal.  We have received some copies dated back to 2017. 

2) Please remember to complete the form in its entirety (even the small details please) The information we have on it is what’s required by ODE

3) Please observe that the required debriefing be held within 48 hours (to the best of your ability) after each restraint or seclusion.  Remember, everyone involved in the incident must participate, in addition to a building administrator (even if they were not involved)

4) Please remember, if a student is in restraint or seclusion for 30 minutes or more, the building admin must complete and sign the Admin. Approval form which is attached to the paperwork.  

5) Finally, please remember to send the parent notification letter home if a staff participates in the administering of restraint or seclusion and they are not CPI trained

Please feel free to contact Krista Baker or your building behavior coach if you have questions or need assistance with completing the forms. 

Calendar:

Leadership Meeting – January 13, Ed Center @ 3:15

HS Principal Meeting – Tuesday, January 14 @ Jackson’s Corner (eastside) – January 31 meeting is Cancelled!

HS Admin Meeting – January 21, SHS @ 7:00 am (read and be ready to discuss Chapters 7-9 in The Culture Code.)

To Do:

LA PLC Work: At our last HS Administrators meeting, four of our LA teachers (Michele Clements – MVHS, Lindsey Christan – LPHS, Anita Thompson – SHS and Christen Seymour – BSHS) did a presentation for us about the powerful equity work they are doing related to selecting our CORE texts for high schools AND designing Common Formative Assessments to implement this year for all 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in all of our schools. The last few slides in the HS LA PLC POWERPOINT include several specific requests for building admin support. Thank you for following up with your LA teachers in December regarding these asks. As instructional leaders in your buildings, your explicit support of this work is paramount.

CFA Calibration Days:

As part of our continued focus on supporting collaboration between our teachers AND of quality professional development, I am partnering with each HS Principal to share the cost of subs for ALL of your LA teachers to be involved in 1.5 days of CFA grading and calibration AFTER the CFA’s assessments are given to our 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in Jan and Feb. Our goal is to have this process completed by April. Please work with your LA departments to ensure they are working with Michele to implement this plan. Thank you for your support of building a culture of collaboration within and across our high schools!

Information:

Connect Workshop: BLS and Deschutes County are teaming up to provide four free parent workshops (the same workshop, offered four times) starting in January. The Connect Workshop is a 2-hour training aimed at providing parents with skills to navigate conversations with their child(ren) around the topics of marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Please share this flyer freely both inside your building and within your broader school community. You will notice that childcare is provided for two of these workshops, and one will be facilitated in Spanish. Additionally, I’ll share a Spanish version of this flyer as soon as I receive it (being translated now).

Update to Office Discipline Referral Form (attached, with my highlight of the updated piece): There has been a new update to the Office Discipline Referral Form. You can find this newest update in the Staff Portal. Here is a link to the new update, which I’ve highlighted and can be found on page two. In essence, Jon would like to be able to track minor incidents of a sexual nature but needs an email or phone call from you ONLY when they are Major incidents.

Our partners at Deschutes County Health Services have scheduled a Youth Mental Health First Aid training for Friday, February 21^st, 2020 from 7:30-4:30. This training is appropriate for school nurses, front office staff, teachers, coaches, extra-curricular advisors, FAN advocates, principals, bus drivers, school resource officers, and essentially anyone that works at the schools that does not have a background in mental health. Whitney has created a registration page for the training, which includes a description: https://22120blpsymhfa.eventbrite.com. If you need help with a sub for a teacher, let me know.

An opportunity for students from Hayley Riach, Emergency Services Coordinator – Disaster, Special Services Unit with the Deschutes Country Sheriff’s Office: We would like to invite a young person to participate in a disaster recovery planning process.   It should be an engaging meeting – we have a few activities planned and expect broad stakeholder participation.  The meeting date and location are TBD and we expect to gather for around 3 hours. Please let Julianne know of any young folks who would be a good match. 

Additionally, there may be an opportunity for ongoing participation in topical workgroups such as housing, emotional/mental health care in times of disaster, business recovery, community planning & capacity building along with many others!   

Here’s a link to the project description in case that is helpful context is helpful:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/7nkn7ev7jmnsmps/Planning%20for%20Disaster%20Recovery%20-%20Phase%20I.pdf?dl=0

Calendar:

Leadership Meeting – January 13, Ed Center @ 3:15 – Added late

HS Admin Meeting – January 21, SHS @ 7:00 am

HS Principal Meeting – January 31, Jackson’s Corner, eastside @ 7:00 am

To Do:

If you have any certified staff of concern and have not communicated this to Jon yet, please do so immediately. Depending on where this employee is on Contract or Probationary status will depend on the next steps – some of which take time to accomplish, but need to be completed by February 2020.

SLGGS, Mini Observations, Prob/Temp Formal Evals and your self-assessment: Be sure you are keeping up with the timeline to complete these important pieces of our evaluation system! By winter break you should have completed: all SLGGS should be digitally signed off (including YOURS) in TalentEd Perform and you should have completed the initial meetings with your staff; completed and digitally entered two mini observations; completed one full cycle formal observation with all of your probs/temps and completed and digitally signed off on YOUR self-assessment. Please check-in with me if you have any questions.

Information:

We have modified the language in JC-AR related to the Choice Attendance Area in south county impacting BSHS and LPHS. Check out the NEW LANGUAGE on page 3, the second bullet. The school a student selects becomes their home school and to move, they would need to go through BACC.

This is from Dana Pedersen: FAN Services during the holidays:  FAN Advocates are willing and able to assist families with basic needs during the holidays.  Please help support staff and Advocates to refrain from providing direct support that is connected to the holidays.  We will continue to connect families with cooperating partners that provide presents and the like during the holiday season;  FAN keeps our focus on the basics.  If schools, or school affiliated organizations want to help, they can coordinate efforts with FAN by collecting items that can be donated to a food bank, or by asking for clothing items that Advocates can pass out during the winter months.  These are but two ways to engage your larger school community if the desire is there.  I would also ask your help in supporting Advocates in not handing out gift cards to stores that sell tobacco or alcohol products.  Board Policy JFCG-AP specifically speaks to district staff not being involved in the sale of such substances.  By handing out gift cards to grocery stores, we are giving clients access to these substances.  There are many food banks, churches and outside agencies that can support families with food needs over the holidays.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  Thank you-

Calendar:

Thanksgiving Break – November 25-29 – Enjoy!

Leadership Team Meeting @Ed Center in the Board Room, Dec 2 at 3:15. Jay sent out the agenda this week. All are welcome to convene at McMenamins following the meeting.

BACC meeting @Ed Center room 312 Dec 5 at 7:30 (Process anymore Trimester 2 students)

HS Principals Meeting @Jackson’s Corner, Dec. 6 at 7:00am

To Do:

At our Monday morning HS Admin meeting at MVHS, we will look at chapters 4-6 of The Culture Code.  Please come ready to discuss belonging through the lens of the Ideas for Action listed on pp. 75-88.  We will have time for some quick small group discussions, and then we will share as a whole group around the following prompts:  In what ways has your work to create belonging with your staff been successful?  How has this work been difficult?  And finally, In what ways are our efforts to build and design for belonging similar/different with staff versus students? See you at 7:00 am!

Information:

Tutoring is now available through LUNA for students between 4-7pm Monday- Thursdays. Students do not need to be enrolled in BLPO OR LUNA to access tutoring. If you have interested students, please complete this google doc so Stephanie knows how many students to anticipate. Feel free to share this info/link with your counselors.

Here is important information from Jackie Wilson, our Sustainability Coordinator: Thanksgiving week shut down of the schools. During the Thanksgiving Break, school HVAC systems will be lowered to the unoccupied setpoints of 58. If you are coming in over the break, please plan on bringing a sweater, not a personal heater as they are a fire hazard. As the schools will be unoccupied, this is a great opportunity for energy conservation. Please remind staff to turn off at the power switch all electronics. All personal fridges and sharded mini-fridges need to be unplugged as well. 

School Garden Information and Grant Opportunity: If you’re interested in installing a permanent outdoor school garden, please download and complete the School Garden Development Application (PDF) (Here is a fillable Word document version: School Garden Development Application Fall 17). We are available to assist with this process, just call 541-385-6908 x14 or email denise.

If your school has a garden or outdoor learning space, I want to learn more and help with lessons and funding. Please email Sustainability Coordinator

Calendar:

HS Admin Meeting @ MVHS, Nov 18, 7:00am (read and be ready to discuss Chapters 4-6 in The Culture Code.)

Bend LaPine Area Change Committee (BACC) Meeting directly following our HS admin meeting on Monday @ MVHS. Plan on 8:30-10:00

College Day – November 22

Thanksgiving Break – November 25-29

HS Principals Meeting @Jackson’s Corner, Dec. 6 at 7:00am – I have moved the Nov 22 meeting to Dec. 6

To Do:

Our work to expand the PLC work between high school teachers continues. Please be sure your science teachers know to attend the high school science teacher meeting during our District SIW on Nov 13, 2:30-3:45 in the Board Room. Paul Hutter will be facilitating the meeting.

This is the last week to get your notes from your Excellence and Equity listening session to LORA. They are due to her by November 14. Thank you for taking the time to facilitate this important exercise!

Informational:

SBAC Opt-Out– We now have a Spanish version of the parent letter for SBAC op-out. Thank you, Kinsey!

Please read this important message from Transportation about field trips and dates to avoid.

Here is an important Discipline Note: We have made one addition to the Incident Form to improve communication with transportation regarding student behaviors that may be concerning. We have added a place on the doc where you can record communication with our colleagues in transportation. When it makes sense to do so, we would like you to ensure they are “in the know” regarding behavior incidents, especially when there are safety concerns. Here are some examples of when Tina (who oversees discipline) would appreciate hearing from school staff: when a student is on a safety plan, when a student may be volatile or there have been, or could be, threats of violence (e.g. bring weapon), a STAS has indicated a student is at high risk, or a student is trespassed.”

Here is a special note from Sean: We have had some incidents in which private practitioners are being allowed to work in schools that do not already have an established partnership with the district.  Here is a quick reminder about private practitioners in our schools: Bend-La Pine Schools does not allow private practitioners to conduct business in our schools during school hours. This includes a private behavioral health therapist, clinical psychologist, occupational therapist, private behavior support skills trainer, observations by family advocates or any person hired by a student’s family to provide services.  Usually, this will come through as a request from a family to have their private provider observe the student in the school setting.  This does not include private folks related to contracts or partnerships we have with community partners (The Child Center, School-Based Health Center, Deschutes County Health). 

If you are approached by a family or private provider about observing or working with a student in your school, consider and try the following:

1. Explain that BLPS does not allow private providers to conduct business in our schools.  In turn, we will not propose conducting academic instruction in their office.  
2. Inquire about the type of information they hope to obtain, and offer to have a member of the school team provide that information.  Typically, with the permission of the parents, we can conduct an observation and share the results with the family and private provider.
3. If the family requests that a provider come into school and perform their services in the school setting, inquire about those services and, if appropriate, explain that we have trained staff that can deliver those services.  If needed, convene and school or IEP team to consider the services requested by the parent.
4. Offer to have our team members consult with the private provider to learn about their work and align services when appropriate.
5. If asked about a specific policy, please refer to KK-AR: Visitors to District Facilities.  The most pertinent language in this policy includes:

“Permission to visit will be granted if, in the judgment of the school principal or designee, the visit serves school interests. Permission to visit will be denied if the visit would be disruptive to the educational program or orderly school operations, would impede the work of teachers through interruptions or unreasonable demands on teacher or staff time, or if the visitor’s course of conduct would conflict with district policies or administrative regulations, building regulations, or the law. The school principal or designee may also deny permission to visit if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the visit would compromise the safety or welfare of students and staff. The school principal or designee has the discretion to limit the scope of the visit as to the duration or specific location of the visit in order to ensure the safety and welfare of students or the orderly administration of educational programs and school operations. If you continue to get questions about this practice, please refer the parent to the Office of School Support or Special Programs.

Attendance Professional Development: Kimberly Strong, our HDESD attendance coordinator shared this webinar about effective attendance strategies. It may be helpful PD for your Grad Coaches and Student Deans, as well as other key staff working to positively impact attendance.

Calendar:

I will be out of the office next Thursday and Friday for the Oregon School Board Association conference but will be available by cell phone.

Veterans Day is Monday, Nov. 11 – No school

Bend LaPine Area Change Committee (BACC) Meeting Nov. 13 at 7:30 @Ed Center Room 312- Committee members, bring the students you would like to discuss to this meeting.

HS Admin Meeting @ MVHS, Nov 18, 7:00am (read and be ready to discuss Chapters 4-6 in The Culture Code.)

College Day – November 22

Thanksgiving Break – November 25-29

HS Principals Meeting @Jackson’s Corner, Dec. 6 at 7:00am – I have moved the Nov 22 meeting to Dec. 6

TO DO:

Please add a Leadership meeting to your calendar for Jan. 13 at 3:15pm. The focus of this meeting will be on our district’s investment priorities.

Please get your notes from your Excellence and Equity listening session to LORA by November 14. Thank you for taking the time to facilitate this important exercise!

Here is an important message from Dave Van Loo about our Opt-Out process:

• Schools need to distribute the attached statewide notices (English version and Spanish version) and opt-out forms in English and Spanish through their “regular communication channels” by December 8, 2019. Appropriate communication methods do include electronically distributing the forms or links to the forms posted on district/school websites.
• Principals also will sign and distribute this letter we used last year.
• In all communication related to opt-outs, it is critical that parents are engaged in the communication and that non-adult students are not subjected to undue influence by educators or staff during working hours. Principals need to ensure all staff understands what types of communication have been deemed inappropriate by the state. Inappropriate communication would include:
  • Making repeated announcements to non-adult students (e.g., over school intercom systems, assemblies) during working hours reminding students to pick up ODE’s opt-out form 
  • Initiating a discussion of ODE’s opt-out form or process with non-adult students during working hours
  • Repeatedly reminding non-adult students to submit ODE’s opt-out form during working hours 
  • Encouraging students to submit ODE’s opt-out form during working hours
• All student opt-outs again need to be entered into the district’s Google form for tracking opt-outs http://bit.ly/BLPoptout1920   
• The opt-out forms apply only to ELA and Math. Exemptions for all other state assessments require parents to submit a written request based on disability or religion. Those students are tracked here http://bit.ly/BLPelpascience1920  

Information:

This article from Education Week highlights equity concerns about our current grading practices. Consider sharing this with your teachers as we continue to reflect on our current practices.

Here is an important message from Whitney Schumacher from DCHS: Please help us promote the upcoming event, International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day on Saturday, November 23^rd. This event is for anyone that has lost a loved one to suicide. Details and registration information can be found at https://preventsuicideco.org/events/international-survivors-of-suicide-loss-day/. You can also reference this FLIER.

Any questions about this event can be directed to Cassidy Brewin, Deschutes County Suicide Prevention Project Coordinator, at [email protected].

Consider nominating a student for the US Presidential Scholars Program! Nominations are due Nov 20.

Please see an upcoming free training below and attached around “Compassionate Conversation: Practical, empathy-based tools to work with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and trauma”.  This workshop takes place on 11.13.19 from 2-5pm in Bend.  All are welcome but please RSVP at: [email protected]

We recently updated two Board Policies that are posted on our website: AC-AP (Non-Discrimination) and AC-AR (Discrimination Complaint Procedure). Please review/use AC-AR when processing any future complaints connected to discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), intimidation, bullying, cyberbullying, menacing, hazing, teen dating violence, and sexual conduct.

Calendar:

Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday… don’t forget to “fall back” an hour.

Veterans Day is Monday, Nov. 11… and there is no school that day.

Bend LaPine Area Change Committee (BACC) Meeting Nov. 13 at 7:30 @Ed Center Room 312- Committee members, bring the students you would like to discuss to this meeting.

HS Admin Meeting @ MVHS, Nov 18 7:00am (discuss Chapters 4-6 in The Culture Code.

Information:

This week I posted three new positions to support our work at the high school level: a 3.75 hours a day Alt Ed Assistant to assist Bob Metcalf in STRIVE, District School to Career Program Manager, and a Student Enrollment Specialist. All of these positions are classified and regular positions. They will each be posted for 10 days.

The Master Scheduling Workshop is scheduled for this Thursday and Friday. You will need this WORKBOOK during the training. These folks have registered for the workshop and there is still room if others would like to attend. Please register through Performance Matters.

Here is a special note from Garra: Nutrition Services is planning to have our 3^rd Annual Veteran’s Day promotion on Friday, November 8^th. We will again be honoring veterans who are family members of students and staff only.  This year we’re adding an additional recognition of the veterans in the form of a thank you note. During the Veteran’s Day lunch, the kitchen staff will pass out the thank you cards to the veterans.  If your school already does a celebration for veterans we would love to feed them just coordinate with the cafeteria. The Menu will be: Homemade Meatloaf, mashed potatoes w/ beef gravy, Caesar salad, and a flag cookie. Here is the poster that will be up in the kitchens and the thank you cards we’ll be providing.

Kerry Morton shared this MATH podcast from Freakanomics. It questions the relevancy of our current math curriculum and worth a listen and a conversation.

Calendar:

10/31-HS Principal Meeting 7:00 Jackson’s Corner eastside

10/31 and 11/1-Master Schedule Workshop

11/18-HS Admin Meeting 7:00am @MVHS – The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. We are going to spend time discussing chapters 4-6 of the book at this meeting.

TO DO:

Our County partners in suicide prevention ask you to take a moment to review our internal protocol regarding suicide or attempted suicide.  

Information:

We kicked off our first Disciplinary Literacy training this Monday with almost 50 middle and high school teachers. So far, the feedback has been positive! If you or your teachers have constructive input about how Dean and his team (Jackie and Alex) can improve the next training, please let them know! It is important that our teachers walk away feeling supported and prepared with strategies that support reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in EVERY content area! To keep you in the loop, Dean prepared this handy Disciplinary Literacy Talking Points doc. It provides a summary of the concepts and strategies discussed in the Oct 14 training and some questions ADMINISTRATORS can ask these teachers to keep thinking about and implementation of these practices moving forward. Your role as an instructional leader in this work is essential!

In August we agreed on the HS Individual Teacher Work Time SIW Dates. After further clarification with our Collective Bargaining Team, we have removed the June SIW date. In short, you gained one more SIW to use for building activities! Here are the dates:  Sept 11, Oct 2, Nov 6, Dec 4, Jan 29, Feb 19, March 4, April 1, and May 6. Please treat this time like you would a workday. In other words, administrators can not set meetings on those days.

I have appreciated hearing about the School Design Plan work you are doing with your staff and the particular focus on closing the gaps we see between our historically underserved and served! Here are the SDP Templates: Future Ready, Thriving Citizen, Academic Excellence for you to record the work of your team.

Calendar:

10/21-HS Admin Meeting 7:00am @ MHS* – The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. We are going to spend time discussing the first three chapters of the book at this meeting.

10/31-HS Principal Meeting 7:00 Jackson’s Corner eastside

11/18-HS Admin Meeting 7:00am @MVHS – The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. We are going to spend time discussing chapters 4-6 of the book at this meeting.